Committees of the Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament has a number of committees, with small numbers of Members appointed to scrutinise the work of the Scottish Government.

Private Bill Committees are set up to deal with the legislation required for major public sector infrastructure projects — such as the underground extensions to the National Gallery of Scotland in 2003.

Much of the work of the Scottish Parliament is done in committee. The role of committees is stronger in the Scottish Parliament than in other parliamentary systems, partly as a means of strengthening the role of backbenchers in their scrutiny of the Government[1] and partly to compensate for the fact that the parliament is unicameral (there is no revising chamber).

The principal role of committees in the Scottish Parliament is to conduct inquiries, scrutinise legislation and hold the government to account.[2] Committee meetings take place in the Parliament's committee rooms all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning when Parliament is sitting. Committees can also meet at other locations throughout Scotland.[3]

Membership of the committees reflects the balance of parties across Parliament.[2] There are different types of committee, with their functions set out in different ways.

The membership of the committees as of August 2011 is shown below. All committees also have substitute members (not shown).

Mandatory Committees

Mandatory Committees are committees which are set down under the Scottish Parliament's standing orders, which govern their remits and proceedings. The current Mandatory Committees of the Scottish Parliament are:[2]

Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Relations

Name		Party
	Joan McAlpine (Convener)	Scottish National Party
	Lewis Macdonald (Deputy Convener)	Scottish Labour Party
	Emma Harper	Scottish National Party
	Jackson Carlaw	Scottish Conservative Party
	Rachael Hamilton	Scottish Conservative Party
	Richard Lochhead	Scottish National Party
	Ross Greer	Scottish Green Party
	Stuart McMillan	Scottish National Party
	Tavish Scott	Scottish Liberal Democrats

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Name		Party
	John Scott (Convener)	Scottish Conservative Party
	Stuart McMillan (Deputy Convener)	Scottish National Party
	David Torrance	Scottish National Party
	Monica Lennon	Scottish Labour Party
	Rachael Hamilton	Scottish Conservative Party

Equalities and Human Rights

Name		Party
	Christina McKelvie (Convener)	Scottish National Party
	Alex Cole-Hamilton (Deputy Convener)	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Annie Wells	Scottish Conservative Party
	David Torrance	Scottish National Party
	Jeremy Balfour	Scottish Conservative Party
	Mary Fee	Scottish Labour Party
	Willie Coffey	Scottish National Party

Finance and Constitution

Name		Party
	Bruce Crawford (Convener)	Scottish National Party
	Adam Tomkins (Deputy Convener)	Scottish Conservative Party
	Ash Denham	Scottish National Party
	Ivan McKee	Scottish National Party
	James Kelly	Scottish Labour Party
	Liam Kerr	Scottish Conservative Party
	Maree Todd	Scottish National Party
	Murdo Fraser	Scottish Conservative Party
	Neil Bibby	Scottish Labour Party
	Patrick Harvie	Scottish Green Party
	Willie Coffey	Scottish National Party

Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny

The remit of the committee, as published by the Parliament, is to consider and report on:

any accounts laid before the Parliament
any report laid before or made to the Parliament by the Auditor General for Scotland
any other document laid before the Parliament concerning financial control, accounting and auditing in relation to public expenditure
post-legislative scrutiny

Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee

Name		Party
	Jenny Marra (Convener)	Scottish Labour Party
	Alison Harris (Deputy Convener)	Scottish Conservative Party
	Alex Neil	Scottish National Party
	Colin Beattie	Scottish National Party
	Gail Ross	Scottish National Party
	Liam Kerr	Scottish Conservative Party
	Monica Lennon	Scottish Labour Party

Public Petitions

The remit of the Committee is to decide what action should be taken on admissible public petitions. The committee is also responsible for deciding, in cases of dispute, whether a public petition is admissible.

On 16 June 2009 the Committee reported on its 'Inquiry into the public petitions process'[4] issued to reflect 10 years of operation, which included an evaluation of the pioneering e-Petitioner online petitioning system.

Name		Party
	Johann Lamont (Convener)	Scottish Labour Party
	Angus MacDonald (Deputy Convener)	Scottish National Party
	Brian Whittle	Scottish Conservative Party
	Maurice Corry	Scottish Conservative Party
	Rona Mackay	Scottish National Party

Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments

Name		Party
	Clare Adamson (Convener)	Scottish National Party
	Patrick Harvie (Deputy Convener)	Scottish Green Party
	Alexander Stewart	Scottish Conservative Party
	Clare Haughey	Scottish National Party
	Daniel Johnson	Scottish Labour Party
	John Scott	Scottish Conservative Party
	Tom Arthur	Scottish National Party

Subject Committees

Subject Committees are established at the beginning of each parliamentary session, and again the balance of members on each committee reflects the balance of parties across Parliament. Typically each committee corresponds with one (or more) of the departments (or ministries) of the Scottish Government. The current Subject Committees are:[2]

Economy, Jobs and Fair Work

Name		Party
	Gordon Lindhurst (Convener)	Scottish Conservative Party
	John Mason (Deputy Convener)	Scottish National Party
	Andy Wightman	Scottish Green Party
	Ash Denham	Scottish National Party
	Dean Lockhart	Scottish Conservative Party
	Gil Paterson	Scottish National Party
	Gillian Martin	Scottish National Party
	Gordon MacDonald	Scottish National Party
	Jackie Baillie	Scottish Labour Party
	Liam Kerr	Scottish Conservative Party
	Richard Leonard	Scottish Labour Party

Education and Skills

Name		Party
	James Dornan (Convener)	Scottish National Party
	Johann Lamont (Deputy Convener)	Scottish Labour Party
	Colin Beattie	Scottish National Party
	Daniel Johnson	Scottish Labour Party
	Fulton MacGregor	Scottish National Party
	Gillian Martin	Scottish National Party
	Liz Smith	Scottish Conservative Party
	Richard Lochhead	Scottish National Party
	Ross Greer	Scottish Green Party
	Ross Thomson	Scottish Conservative Party
	Tavish Scott	Scottish Liberal Democrats

Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform

Name		Party
	Graeme Dey (Convener)	Scottish National Party
	Maurice Golden (Deputy Convener)	Scottish Conservative Party
	Alexander Burnett	Scottish Conservative Party
	Angus MacDonald	Scottish National Party
	Claudia Beamish	Scottish Labour Party
	David Stewart	Scottish Labour Party
	Emma Harper	Scottish National Party
	Finlay Carson	Scottish Conservative Party
	Jenny Gilruth	Scottish National Party
	Kate Forbes	Scottish National Party
	Mark Ruskell	Scottish Green Party

Health and Sport

Name		Party
	Neil Findlay (Convener)	Scottish Labour Party
	Clare Haughey (Deputy Convener)	Scottish National Party
	Alex Cole-Hamilton	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Alison Johnstone	Scottish Green Party
	Colin Smyth	Scottish Labour Party
	Donald Cameron	Scottish Conservative Party
	Ivan McKee	Scottish National Party
	Maree Todd	Scottish National Party
	Miles Briggs	Scottish Conservative Party
	Richard Lyle	Scottish National Party
	Tom Arthur	Scottish National Party

Justice

Name		Party
	Margaret Mitchell (Convener)	Scottish Conservative Party
	Rona Mackay (Deputy Convener)	Scottish National Party
	Ben Macpherson	Scottish National Party
	Douglas Ross	Scottish Conservative Party
	Fulton MacGregor	Scottish National Party
	John Finnie	Scottish Green Party
	Liam McArthur	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Mairi Evans	Scottish National Party
	Mary Fee	Scottish Labour Party
	Oliver Mundell	Scottish Conservative Party
	Stewart Stevenson	Scottish National Party

Justice Sub-committee on Policing

Name		Party
	Mary Fee (Convener)	Scottish Labour Party
	Margaret Mitchell (Deputy Convener)	Scottish Conservative Party
	Ben Macpherson	Scottish National Party
	John Finnie	Scottish Green Party
	Liam McArthur	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Rona Mackay	Scottish National Party
	Stewart Stevenson	Scottish National Party

Local Government and Communities

Name		Party
	Bob Doris (Convener)	Scottish National Party
	Elaine Smith (Deputy Convener)	Scottish Labour Party
	Alexander Stewart	Scottish Conservative Party
	Andy Wightman	Scottish Green Party
	Graham Simpson	Scottish Conservative Party
	Kenny Gibson	Scottish National Party
	Ruth Maguire	Scottish National Party

Rural Economy and Connectivity

Topics this committee covers are: Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries/Aquaculture, Food & Drink, Crofting, Transport, Digital Connectivity and Islands Issues

Name		Party
	Edward Mountain (Convener)	Scottish Conservative Party
	Gail Ross (Deputy Convener)	Scottish National Party
	Jamie Greene	Scottish Conservative Party
	John Finnie	Scottish Green Party
	John Mason	Scottish National Party
	Mairi Evans	Scottish National Party
	Mike Rumbles	Scottish Liberal Democrats
	Peter Chapman	Scottish Conservative Party
	Rhoda Grant	Scottish Labour Party
	Richard Lyle	Scottish National Party
	Stewart Stevenson	Scottish National Party

Social Security

Name		Party
	Sandra White (Convener)	Scottish National Party
	Pauline McNeill (Deputy Convener)	Scottish Labour Party
	Adam Tomkins	Scottish Conservative Party
	Alison Johnstone	Scottish Green Party
	Ben Macpherson	Scottish National Party
	George Adam	Scottish National Party
	Gordon Lindhurst	Scottish Conservative Party
	Mark Griffin	Scottish Labour Party
	Ruth Maguire	Scottish National Party

Conveners' Group

The Conveners' Group is a special committee of the Scottish Parliament chaired by either the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament or one of the Deputy Presiding Officers. Its main responsibilities are involved in the administration of Committee expenses and certain other activities.

Name		Party
	Christine Grahame (Chair and Deputy Presiding Officer)	Scottish National Party
	Clare Adamson	Scottish National Party
	Bruce Crawford	Scottish National Party
	Graeme Dey	Scottish National Party
	Bob Doris	Scottish National Party
	James Dornan	Scottish National Party
	Neil Findlay	Scottish Labour Party
	Johann Lamont	Scottish Labour Party
	Gordon Lindhurst	Scottish Conservative Party
	Joan McAlpine	Scottish National Party
	Christina McKelvie	Scottish National Party
	Jenny Marra	Scottish Labour Party
	Margaret Mitchell	Scottish Conservative Party
	Edward Mountain	Scottish Conservative Party
	John Scott	Scottish Conservative Party
	Sandra White	Scottish National Party

Previous Committees

Private Bill Committees

A further type of committee is normally set up to scrutinise private bills submitted to the Scottish Parliament by an outside party or promoter who is not a member of the Scottish Parliament or Scottish Government. Private bills normally relate to large-scale development projects such as infrastructure projects that require the use of land or property.[5] Private Bill Committees have been set up to consider legislation on issues such as the development of the Edinburgh Tram Network, the Glasgow Airport Rail Link, the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link and extensions to the National Gallery of Scotland.[6]

Burrell Collection (Lending and Borrowing) (Scotland) Bill Committee

City of Edinburgh Council (Leith Links and Surplus Fire Fund) (Scotland) Bill Committee

City of Edinburgh Council (Portobello Park) Bill Committee

Justice Sub-Committee on Policing - Implementation of Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act

Subject Committees

Referendum (Scotland) Bill Committee

Welfare Reform Committee

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gollark: If I ever get a diamond thing for whatever reason it'll probably just be a synthetic one. They're much cooler anyway.

gollark: Diamonds though...

gollark: It *is quite rare*.

gollark: Also quite rare, critically.

References

Dardanelli (2005) p185
"Committees - Parliamentary Business: Scottish Parliament". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
"Finance Committee to meet in Perth". Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). Archived from the original on 21 March 2005. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
Inquiry into the public petitions process Archived 25 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine Scottish Parliament Paper 300, 3rd Report, 2009 (Session 3) (PU/S3/09/R3) (Accessed 16.06.2009)
"Private Bills". Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). Archived from the original on 5 December 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
"Private Bill Committees". Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). Archived from the original on 5 December 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2006.

External links

Committees of the Scottish Parliament, at the official parliamentary website

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[1] Dardanelli (2005) p185

[Committee-2] "Committees - Parliamentary Business: Scottish Parliament". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 26 April 2015.

[CommitteeMeetings-3] "Finance Committee to meet in Perth". Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). Archived from the original on 21 March 2005. Retrieved 22 November 2006.

[4] Inquiry into the public petitions process Archived 25 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine Scottish Parliament Paper 300, 3rd Report, 2009 (Session 3) (PU/S3/09/R3) (Accessed 16.06.2009)

[5] "Private Bills". Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). Archived from the original on 5 December 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2006.

[PrivateBillCommitteeMeetings-6] "Private Bill Committees". Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe). Archived from the original on 5 December 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2006.